Week 14 : Bike bait

Post 391

1/4 : A fast fresh frolic on Fools day

Mentally motivated but physically frigid facing six degrees Saturday, the urge to ride faster to warm up only whipped up the wind chill factor. How summer's warmth has softened us!   To satisfy the cyclust in him, Wozz flew in the face of flu and Mel withstood the weather to soak up Saturday's cycling sociology, down to the startline we rolled to find Trav, Tina, Bruce, Temple, Rocket, Avanti-not-MeridaJohn, AvantiAndy, MeridaAndy, HBK, Grumpy, SuperMario, BamBam, Shorty, Popgun, Cougar, TatMat, TatPaul, KillkennyPaul, BassoDan, Softa, The Godfather, Kel, Pistol, Bo, Boof, Jen, Jase, Manny and Carl.  Temperature obviously wasn't the hinderance,  so what fills a cold carpark at 5:55?  Mel's discovery of a spongy front tyre at 5:58 prompted an inevitable split in the Couldabeens crowd (feelings of fault were unjustified Mel, this is a team game!), 14 stayed to struggle with the SLR while 18 set sail as a manageable group one.  Boof's brawn and The Godfathers grunt reseated the GP4000 on the recalcitrant rim for group two (MeridaAndy, Wozz, Mel, Boof, The Godfather, TatMat, TatPaul, KillkennyPaul, Softa, BassoDan, Manny, Carl and Tina) to launch the second assault.  Wozz and I opened the account to Doyle's Rd but a mechanical misdemeanor messed with Mel's motion.  With a binding brake released, we steamed along Channel Rd, there'd be plenty of turns on the front today (making a change from the usual one or two), smoother shifts served by similarly skilled suiting synchronicity.  There was a short-cut taken to suit the schedule, Toaster and Emu corners dropped in favour of straight up Boundary to Lemnos-Cosgrove, with a heads-up to several unaccustomed to the ripple strips at the Hill Rd rail crossing.   Softa's made a comeback on a new Pinarello, Tina still toughing out her 400k a week habit and MeridaAndy's still murdering the big gears.  West toward town, BassoDan's tank was rapidly emptying beside Wozz, I moved up when he rolled across, cruising with compassion for a lad on the limit (respecting Rule #67).  Ford Rd's first 2 k's pickled me with pace beside young Carl, it's hard to deliver ten tenths while trying to hide that you're spent (the gasps, groans and headling usually give the game away).  

A nod for effort from TatMat and KillkennyPaul was my mental salve, now just to stay in the draft of Boof and Carl's pace in the hope of a quick recovery before the Wanganui workout. There were 14 line astern at DECA as the cream (Wozz, Boof, The Godfather, Carl and MeridaAndy) rose to the top, but the pace eased at the base of Wanganui hill, finding group one pit-stopped for a puncture payback. Group two pressed on to steal the warmest Lemontree seats, kit colours, caustic comments predicting pace & perfecting position were on the chat list as group one docked to fill a 28 seat table.

3/4 : Monday's meandering

The temptation to trek a different track overpowered me Monday, so steered south on Archer to crank a reverse Kialla loop, 8 degrees and the light southerly taking the slack out of the legs. Eastern standard time had delivered a few lumens of light by 5:30, a mental calculation to reach the Goat peace train by 6 was cutting it fine, but the Virgo in me delivered a pronto pace to be punctual.  Coggo, Cate, Spiessy, Sandy, AvantiLeigh, Tina, RidleySomebody, Phil, AvantiAndy, Bazza, Belly, ApprenticePete, Spartacus and Jen had foregathered at Friars, a course committee convening conversation to soon divert from the Old Dookie Rd's roadworks.   Chocks away at 6 with the gift of first light to navigate east, a calm crank in the spirit of serenity with daylight now identifying RidleySomebody as RidleyCraig.

There's a lot more comfort seeing beyond the reach of the headlight, Bazz back aboard a bike (and suffering the temperature), Apprentice Pete improving all the time, Sandy swish in the new Goat kit and Spartacus unbridled by birthdays. Two bikes ahead were reeled in on River Rd's first k, Keeno and Cranky on a calmer-than-Cats cruise. Speed rose surreptitiously toward the bridge, one last turn beside Phil before it was my time to exit.   Still craving a change of course, I pointed north on the truck route to town to put diversity in the day, the 2 metre wide emergency lane a safer option than the skinny strip of Archer Rd's tarmac. The sun speared its beams through the clouds to enthuse the day, ah, but how long will this daylight dream last?

4/4  Team Turtle time trial
A cool and calm cruise to the Turtles Tuesday, with a short sprint to wake up the heart rate in preparation.  Just Jase, TrekTrev, HBK and KillkennyPaul had fronted the 5:40 grid, are the absent Turtles terrified by tempo?  With just 5 to work the lap, I cleverly called an Indian file but stupidly volunteered the first (and longest) shift. 8 degrees had clamped the lungs, taking till Kensington roundabout to get up to pace, it was quite a push for 1600 metres but I was trying to ignore the distance.  HBK towed us to Orrvale Rd, Jase to the Kinder, KillkennyPaul to McFadyen Rd and TrekTrev to Jameson Rd.  HBK powered on to the S bend leaving me the remainder of Channel to drive, unaware that TrekTrev's fuse had fizzled to the point of OTA and jettisoning breakfast. He summoned us onward (according to HBK's report), so five became four southward on Boundary with Jase doing the honours to River Rd.   KillkennyPaul dug the comeback depths to hammer out a turn (albeit abbreviated), HBK towed me to the kennels and I drove to the dip for Jase to take over.  The power of positive thought pushed me to pound out a 2k turn in Mitchell Rd, thank my lucky lungs there was a pause for traffic at the highway for respiratory recovery.  Into Raftery Rd and headed for Galbraiths, we were wearing down the lead a solo bike had ahead, nothing like a bit of bike bait to extract extra effort eh?  I put in a turn to Arcadia Downs before Jase dragged us into Conrod straight, the almost elusive lure found to be Weapon (with the TT Avanti advantage) as we crested the first rise.  I was going to gift KillkennyPaul the honours of the finish line till HBK shot past him in the last 150, a dark force motivating me to steal the win and deny HBK the bragging rights.

5/4 Boof's birthday bike bash

Wednesday started with a new pair of Pro4's and tubes (better than Colgate's ring of confidence....wow, that dates me!) and a new chain making the DuraAce delicious to change cogs.

Another cool and calm cruise to converge on the Couldabeens clan found Jase, Nick, Trav, Pelly, Shorty, Car+Mel, Pistol, Wozz, Cate, Rocket, Kel, Bo, Avanti-not-MeridaJohn, TrekTrev and Temple ready for 6am launch.  There was an inevitable big bunch split by traffic on the exit so it was a slow start till the bridges before the pace was on, Nev, Weapon, Bruce, BamBam and Troy joining at KiallaLakes. It's becoming way too easy to to sit back and relish the tow as the up-line assembled quickly, Wozz, Rocket, Boof, Pistol et al forming a formidable force to slice south toward Mitchell Rd.  So it was sit back social time till the call of duty beckoned much later, talking tummy turn-arounds with TrekTrev, kits that cook with Kel (purring in purple), travels with Trav, Boof's birthday, velocity variation with Rocket, weekly targets with BamBam, the Thursday agenda with Temple and compact vs big rings with Avanti-not-MeridaJohn. 

Cats were at the corner of River and Boundary, a line of galloping Goats licking lips bearing down behind, but most of us had attention on yet another super sunrise at One Tree Dam on our travels to Channel Rd.  And so the speed brewed west, and as each stepped up to play their part the short straw of the ChaCha lead-out became the issue.  Shorty squeezed in his turn just before Central Ave, a jinx befalling Car+Mel and Cate inheriting the build up to Kinder corner.  Turns in rapid succession put me at the front turning at the corner, pleased to have Jase roll across soon after.  Rocket took the long drive to Prentice Rd as a gift for birthday boy Boof, I sat in survival mode in Jase's then Temple's draft to be towed along for a midfield finish.

6/4  Temple's Tour de Turtles
Cramped by a case of the c.b.f's on Thursday morning, I had to trawl the depths of the corpus amygdala to get some giddy up to ride.  Spending the 15 minute commute to the carpark slowly warming up the old engine worked well, only Temple, Shorty, KillkennyPaul and Softa had fronted for 5:40 duty though.  Great to have BamBam arrive as we launched, a glance back found all carriages attached behind so I let loose on leg one (deja vu Tuesday), apparently unhooking an unseen addition who'd arrived looking for "the slow group".  Birthday boy Temple drove leg two and BamBam leg three to the Kinder, KillkennyPaul had a crack at leg four, scoring an elephant stamp for effort getting most of it done.  Shorty dragged us to the cypress trees and I was surprised to then see Softa face the front, but the glory lasted just 50 metres till reality cooked him.  I towed the train to the S bend but Softa had kaboomed off the caboose (solo laps and concrete consumption to do before his next attempt?).  5 became 4 in Boundary Rd (deja vu Tuesday again), I took a long turn in River Rd (Boundary to Trevaskis) maybe to prove my worth / earn my tow / find my limit, but it's almost heaven to get back in the tow and gasp my way back to coherent.  BamBam blasted the last 1.6 of River, Shorty slogging southward through Central Kialla to give me the drive on Mitchell to Archer (deja vu Tuesday yet again!).   It was repeat as neccessary in Raftery Rd where Temple scored the birthday present of the Conrod crown, a chatty commute home with Killkenny Paul on the fine art of the elbow flick, bacon breakfasts and the emerald isle.

7/4   Sprinterred
Despite a cruisy commute, Wozz, Car+Mel, Cate and I arrived on the second row of Fridays grid, popularity populating the peloton yet again.  (BamBam, SuperMario, Col, Pistol, Bruce, Jen, Trav, Kel, Pelly, Kenworth, Bo, Weapon, Nick, ScottMatt, Boof and TrekTrev)  Pelly played tow truck for the town exit, I got off my lazy gluteus maximus (see Wednesday 5/4) to do early duty in the up-line just as Wozz and Col did likewise.  I copped a thorough whole wheeling from Col from River to Mitchell, just grin and bear it Foss, it's probably Col's eduCATion?  An orange horizon slowly cleared to pale blue, reaching Central Kialla paired with Bruce was a tough task but he remained respectfully level.  After 4200 metres of toil, I reckoned I'd earned my tow, now the social side to enjoy (when my capacity to speak returned!)  River Rd westward bike traffic was thin, not until its end do Cats and Goats come out to play these days. North on Boundary into the breeze, Channel Rd promised the relief of a partial wind assistance home (with the obligatory pick up of pace to suit).
Cate, Car+Mel had done their donation to the drive by the cypress trees, Jen got hers in before Central Ave, it was now up to Wozz and Col to lead us to the ChaCha.  The speed was taken ever so gently up to the boil that I reached the front with 700 metres to go. 

With Boof and Bruce on my tail the only option was to bolt (so they'd earn the glory), delighted to glimpse 52 clicks but my fuse was burning rapidly.   Bruce then Boof soon belted by to instantly trigger my mental defeat, the engine in shut down and holding my line, I watched as most scurried by, but hey!, there's no trophies at the end except for the grins and laughs commuting home.



Week 14       253 km             YTD 3,475 km